Theatre--Performance (Cast Profiles)

This is the next in a series of profiles of the cast of THE GLASS MENDACITY, which opens Friday, June 15th.

Michael Cato (Mitch O'Connor) – A graduate of ULL’s Performing Arts department, Michael has been acting in the Acadiana region since 2006. His work has since extended to the field of sound design, for which he has received honors from the Kennedy Center American Collegiate Theatre Festival on five occasions. He is a member of Acadiana Repertory Theatre, based in Lafayette. Michael considers Dr. Watson in Hound, Freddie inNoises Off, and Howie in Rabbit Hole among his favorite roles he's played on stage. In this play, Michael finds himself in the mishmash of Tennessee Williams' male characters, and while he himself has never been to a monster truck rally, he’s certainly not lacking in the important humanities.

Theatre--Performance (Cast Profiles)

This is the next in a series of cast profiles from THE GLASS MENDACITY, which opens on Friday, July 15th at Cite Des Arts.

Mary Gail Lamonte DeVillier (Amanda Dubois) - Mary Gail has been enamored with acting since high school when she saw her first stage play, a production of The Glass Menagerie and declared, "I can do that."  Years later she indeed did portray the story's matriarch, Amanda Wingfield, on two occasions, once with her daughter, Jody Lamonte Powell, cast as Laura. She has had lead or supporting roles in over 25 plays, over 60 years. Prior credits include Daisy in Driving Miss Daisy, Emma in Over the River and Through the Woods, for both of which she won the Eunice Players' Theatre's Best Actress Irving Award, and Louise in Always...Patsy Cline, all directed by Jody. She retired in 1998 after a 33 year career as a Children's Protective Services Worker. After the recent death of her second husband, she returned to Opelousas to be near her family. She has three children and eight grandchildren, one of whom lives in heaven. She is grateful to Jody, her frequent and favorite director, for casting her in such a delicious role and allowing her to be part of such a talented group of actors.  Much like Amanda, Mary Gail delights in having her children near her, and can always find the humor in any situation, tragic or otherwise.

Theatre--Performance (Cast Profile)

This is Katryn Schmidt, another member of the cast of THE GLASS MEDACITY.

Katryn "Katt" Schmidt (Maggie the Cat) - With an extensive history in stage and film work, Katt brings a lot of passion and experience to the stage. Local theatre work includes Bella in Lost in Yonkers, Mrs. Webb in Our Town, and Prudence in Beyond Therapy. She also played many different women and even a few men in Parallel Lives: The Kathy and Mo Show, and was seen earlier this year in The Vagina Monologues in Lafayette. Her film work includes Lord Byron, which was screened at the Sundance Festival in 2011. Katt is excited to be working with such a talented cast and crew on this show, especially with her loving husband, Brick, whose affection she longs for and goes to great lengths to receive. Katt and her character share more than just a name; Katt spends her days in attempts to save the world and has learned much about relationships...one Brick at a time. Maybe one day she will meet her Stanley!

Theatre--Performance (Cast Profile)

Another member of the cast of THE GLASS MENDACITY, opening at Cite Des Arts this Friday.

Erin Segura (Laura Dubois) - Erin is a 2005 graduate of Northwestern State University with degrees in Liberal Arts and Dance. Since then she has been very active in theatres across Acadiana. Her favorite roles include Shelby in Steel Magnoliasat Teche Theatre in Franklin, Rita in Educating Rita at Cite' des Arts and Iberia Performing Arts League, Puck in A Midsummer Night's Dream with Acting Unlimited, Inc. in Lafayette, Xanthias in The Frogs with Acting Unlimited Repertory Academy in Lafayette, and most recently, Mona Lipshitz (Merry Murderess #6) in IPAL's Chicago. Her next role will be that of Polar Bear in AUI's Wolves in the Walls. Erin loves theatre as a hobby and appreciates the friendships she's made through community theatre that last long after the show is over. Much like Laura, Erin is shy in "real life", and encounters people who are surprised to learn that she performs on stage.

Theatre--Performance (CastProfile)

Meet the cast of THE GLASS MENDACITY, opening on Friday, June 15 at Cite Des Arts.

Billy Walker (Big Daddy Dubois) - Billy is excited for his first production with NathanaelT Productions and Cite' des Arts since the bulk of his work has been done in New Iberia with Iberia Performing Arts League. His most recent performance was as Billy Flynn in IPAL's production of Chicago. Other performances include IPAL's The Unexpected Guest, Remember When, andGuys and Dolls, as well as Firelight Performing Arts' production of Oliver!. During the day he is a salesman for Manuel Builders. He loves being on stage and thanks his wife and family for their love and support. Billy notes that, much like Big Daddy, even though he has a rough exterior, he would do anything for his family!

Theatre--Performance

The Glass Mendacity at Cite' des Arts
Produced by NathanaelT Productions LLC
Directed by Jody L. Powell

 "a streetcar full of laughs"......The Times Picayune
"literature’s most dysfunctional family, the DuBois clan - Tennessee with a Twist"........Tennessee Williams/New Orleans Literary Festival


Tennessee Williams’ more well-known plays "The Glass Menagerie", "A Streetcar Named Desire", and "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" are family dramas, and as such, they are filled with fragile and damaged Southern characters who are driven to madness, alcoholism, deceit, and fantasy.  Thus, they are easy targets for lampooning and parody, which is just what the authors of this play have done with them.  In addition, the authors have taken family members from each play, mixed them up, and created an entirely new outrageous brood. Audiences with a strong familiarity of Williams’ plays will get the most out of the show, but the humor of "The Glass Mendacity" is broad enough to make it appealing to all. 


In this mingling of characters where families are merged and relationships are shifted, Big Daddy, the patriarch dying of a spastic colon is married to Amanda Dubois who still recounts the number of gentlemen callers she had in her youth (the number grows with each new telling).  Together, they are the parents of Brick, so rendered catatonic by self-pity and alcohol that he comes across as a real stiff; Blanche, the tragic nut case, now married to the working-class brute Stanley Kowalski; and Laura, the dreamer whose shyness is underscored by her limp.  True to her original story, Maggie the Cat, the scheming seductress, is still married to Brick.  And of course, there’s Mitch, a combination of the gentleman caller and the lawyer acquaintance who properly greases the wheels and can’t keep his eyes off of Maggie.


The two-act comedy has plenty of verbal gags twisted from Williams' original scripts that will keep the audience in stitches.  The actors have free range of the stage, delivering the original plays’ best lines with sharp characterizations and all the flair as if they were playing the originally written roles.

The cast includes:
Michael Cato as Mitch O'Connor
Katryn Schmidt as Maggie the Cat
Mary Gail Lamonte DeVillier as Amanda Dubois
Brick Dubois as himself
Deborah D. Ardoin as Blanche Dubois
John Snyder as Stanley Kowalski
Billy Walker as Big Daddy Dubois
Erin Segura as Laura Dubois
Performances dates:
Friday, June 15 at 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, June 16 at 7:30 p.m.
Sunday, June 17 at 2:00 p.m.
Friday, June 22 at 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, June 23 at 7:30 p.m.
Sunday, June 24 at 2:00 p.m.

 Tickets are available at citedesarts.org or by calling 291-1122 or at the door.

By Maureen Morley and Tom Willmorth
Story by Doug Armstrong, Keith Cooper, Maureen Morley, and Tom Willmorth
Produced by special arrangement with Broadway Play Publishing, Inc.

Theatre--Performance

The Glass Mendacity at Cite' des Arts
Produced by NathanaelT Productions LLC
Directed by Jody L. Powell 

"a streetcar full of laughs"......The Times Picayune
"literature’s most dysfunctional family, the DuBois clan - Tennessee with a Twist"........Tennessee Williams/New Orleans Literary Festival 

Tennessee Williams’ more well-known plays The Glass Menagerie, A Streetcar Named Desire, and Cat on a Hot Tin Roof are family dramas, and as such, they are filled with fragile and damaged Southern characters who are driven to madness, alcoholism, deceit, and fantasy.  Thus, they are easy targets for lampooning and parody, which is just what the authors of this play have done with them.  In addition, the authors have taken family members from each play, mixed them up, and created an entirely new outrageous brood. Audiences with a strong familiarity of Williams’ plays will get the most out of the show, but the humor of The Glass Mendacity is broad enough to make it appealing to all.  

In this mingling of characters where families are merged and relationships are shifted, Big Daddy, the patriarch dying of a spastic colon is married to Amanda Dubois who still recounts the number of gentlemen callers she had in her youth (the number grows with each new telling).  Together, they are the parents of Brick, so rendered catatonic by self-pity and alcohol that he comes across as a real stiff; Blanche, the tragic nut case, now married to the working-class brute Stanley Kowalski; and Laura, the dreamer whose shyness is underscored by her limp.  True to her original story, Maggie the Cat, the scheming seductress, is still married to Brick.  And of course, there’s Mitch, a combination of the gentleman caller and the lawyer acquaintance who properly greases the wheels and can’t keep his eyes off of Maggie. 

The two-act comedy has plenty of verbal gags twisted from Williams' original scripts that will keep the audience in stitches.  The actors have free range of the stage, delivering the original plays’ best lines with sharp characterizations and all the flair as if they were playing the originally written roles. 

The cast includes:
Michael Cato as Mitch O'Connor
Katryn Schmidt as Maggie the Cat
Mary Gail Lamonte DeVillier as Amanda Dubois
Brick Dubois as himself
Deborah D. Ardoin as Blanche Dubois
John Snyder as Stanley Kowalski
Billy Walker as Big Daddy Dubois
Erin Segura as Laura Dubois 

Performances dates:
Friday, June 15 at 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, June 16 at 7:30 p.m.
Sunday, June 17 at 2:00 p.m.
Friday, June 22 at 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, June 23 at 7:30 p.m.
Sunday, June 24 at 2:00 p.m. 

Tickets are available at citedesarts.org or by calling 291-1122 or at the door.
By Maureen Morley and Tom Willmorth
Story by Doug Armstrong, Keith Cooper, Maureen Morley, and Tom Willmorth
Produced by special arrangement with Broadway Play Publishing, Inc.

Theatre--Fundraisers

Fundraisers this week! (Updated)

Acting Unlimited Inc, has created a Kickstarter project to help fund its summer production:  an original adaptation of Neil Gaiman's The Wolves in the Walls.  They are trying to raise $3,000 to help fund the puppets and set involved in the  production.  For a look at the information and the Kickstarter.com project, visit here.  This project ends in 18 days.

NathanaelT Productions is running an Indiegogo campaign to collect money to pay artists, but not fund productions.  For a look at the information and the Indiegogo.com campaign, visit here.  This project ends in 93 days.

Acadiana Repertory Theatre has just started an Indiegogo.com campaign to raise money for their Inaugural New Works Festival.  They are trying to raise $2,000 and have 24 days left.  For more information on their projects, visit here.